Research interests

Our team is developing stem-cell based therapeutic products. One important aspect of our work consists in exploiting the potential of hematopoietic stem cells of cord blood origin either through process refinement or through the development of novel therapeutic strategies. In addition, since hematopoietic stem cells can be used for the generation of red blood cells and platelets in the laboratory, we are evaluating various culture methods with the goal of translating them to high quality and large-scale processes.

Nearly all cell types (including blood cells) can now be reprogrammed into undifferentiated cells that can grow indefinitely in the laboratory. These « induced pluripotent stem cells » or iPSC offer an entirely new range of therapeutic possibilities, such as the continuous production of red blood cells with a given phenotype. Moreover, recent progress now allows researchers to efficiently and precisely modify the cell’s genome using specific nucleases, which could enable the development of novel targeted cell therapies.

We are thus working towards maximizing the therapeutic possibilities of stem cells with the goal of broadening Héma-Québec ‘s product portfolio.

Current projects:

Expansion and modification of hematopoietic stem cells for targeted therapies